Tell me, who the [snip] has presidential experience before they get into office? Seriously! Where do you get POTUS experience? Huh?

a divider who polarizes

As opposed to Bush? A uniter? How polarizing was Bush? (I know, can't bring up Bush, cause the years of 2000 - 2008 never happened)

a power-hungry politician who's casual disregard for the laws and Constitution are writ large.

Listen, in order to be president, you have got to be power hungry. If you aren't, you will NEVER be president. We don't elect the meek to the
position, and isn't that directly in opposition to your first argument against Obama? He's power hungry, but has no experience at the most power
hungry position in the world?

99% of politicians are the same.

Including Ron Paul

It's okay to blame Bush, but we can't blame Obama because he's just a victim.
It's okay to blame Congress, but we can't blame Obama because he's just a victim.

Believe me, Obama get's plenty of blame. some of it is even warranted. The problem is, that his opponents blame him for EVERYTHING including their
own erectile disfunction.

The buck stops with leadership. Way back in O-school, we were taught that our people got the fame, we got the blame.

Yes, Obama does hold responsibility for some things. I linked a list of campaign promises that Obama has broken. But you seem to want to blame Obama
for EVERY SINGLE THING GOING WRONG IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE!

Obama is a piss-poor leader.

That's your opinion, and your entitled to it.

He has no moral compass. His goal is to better himself at the sacrifice of all others. His casual disregard to toss any and everyone under the
bus to keep himself clean is apparent to anyone that can see.

There's not an equal dichotomy going on in this country. .Your side is ignoring it's part in this whole process. It ignores that it has done
everything it can to ensure that this particular president is deemed a failure at everything his administration has done.

You can't work against this country and it's leadership overtly and then expect that this leadership will succeed. The partisan politics you have
spewed has been a detractor and bane to moving this country forward. Your side has worked tirelessly against this president and this country so that
you can orchestrate false animosity and hate where none is due.

You justify Obama's actions but condemn anyone elses!

I haven't justified crap Obama has done personally. His failures are his own. I have even pointed out his failures in this thread. He has made some
promises that he has failed to keep. He has even worked against some of those same promises.

None of you have proven that Obama orchestrated this IRS targeting himself.But you are willing to blame him for it none the less. Just like you blame
him for your cat pooing in your shoe. You blame him personally like he himself came to your house and pooed in your shoe when it really was your cat.

IRS Tea Party Scandal: White House Did Not Drive Investigation, Inspector General Says

WASHINGTON -- The IRS Inspector General said Tuesday that incompetence, not malice, was behind the tax agency’s heavy scrutiny of conservative
groups applying for tax-exempt status in the lead-up to the 2012 elections.

A 48-page IG report explicitly stated that the IRS behavior was “not politically biased,” that it was due to lower-level staff who did not
understand their jobs and sometimes acted insubordinately, and that it was not driven by the White House.

Ever since the days of Al Capone, the government has been using the IRS as their ultimate secret weapon to knock down any target which proved too
slippery, clever, and smart, for the police to handle. They just pull out their big gun, the I.R.S., aim it at the target, and the victim falls.
It's a high precision weapon, like a laser gun. Never misses it's mark.

Is it any surprise, that the government is now using this high powered weapon to target political opponents? This was inevitable, since all tools
manufactured find their field of application expanding as time passes. People get more and more creative, and figure out new ways to use the tool.

This is such an effective weapon, that they could easily re-classify the IRS as an official branch of the military.

They both operate in the same international theater of operations. The IRS tackles offshore accounts in Swiss banks, and Cayman Islands, etc..proving
that it's not just a domestic agency. So, given it's international scope, and effective weponization, as used by the government, this puts it in the
same class of operations as the armed forces today.

People can no longer think of the IRS as their friendly tax collector, just processing tax returns like a bookkeeper, and disbursing refunds to the
public. It has become institutionalized as a tool for law enforcement, to get at suspected law breakers, and now a tool of incumbents to get at
political opponents.

It's now a weapon wielded widely afield, at any convenient target, which the government deems a threat to it's "National Security".

Originally posted by HauntWok
Why do you think it's silly, there's a base group of about 8 or 9 people here on ATS who's sole purpose seems to be to take absolutely anything
that ever happens and spin it so that this president looks bad.

Because Haunt, you have based this off a small percentage of posters; you own admission. If 9 people can dictate your points, I cannot help you.

It's just a matter of time before y'all start blaming Obama for your constipation.

And I'm being silly.

Yes you are and you are also allowing them (who ever they are) to dictate your discussion. You have yet to actually address the OP; instead you have
been focused on this childish game of he said, he said; so it is okay. That is why it is silly.

Impeachment is fruitless. Time would be better spent trying to identify a qualified candidate for the next election cycle. It has been such a long
time since we have had one. Nothing but shills and crooks......

That is very true, however, one reason why all we get are shills and crooks is that they think they can get away with anything and everything. If we
don't punish corrupt politicians all we will get will be crooks.

I know many of you blame Obama personally for every single bad thing that ever happens in your life including stubbing your toes, and your rush hour
commute in the morning. But this came in today.

The IRS is an independent agency, remember that, it's not up to Obama who they target for harsher audits and investigations. It's still wrong true,
but maybe this time, this one time, it's not Obama's fault.

Your stubbed toe however, yea, all Obama's fault.

edit on 13-5-2013 by HauntWok because: (no reason given)

I find your name ironic.

The IRS is part of the executive branch. The president is head of the executive branch and directs the IRS just as he is the chief of every other
portion of the executive branch. It is not an independent agency and they can and do get their marching orders from the chief executive. Nixon did
the same thing.

the president is the head of the Treasury Department in terms of accountability.

Oh so, so wrong.

CONGRESS is in charge of the treasury department. The president only picks the secretary of the treasury, but congress is the one the treasury answers
to according to article I section 8 of the United States Constitution.

This is why congress holds hearings and brings in the fed chair and the treasury secretary from time to time.

Just because he picks the secretary, means he's in charge of them about as much as when he picks a supreme court justice. (read: not at all)

It's congress who holds the purse strings.

They are the ones who have the power to lay and collect taxes (according to the Constitution) they are the ones that write the tax code (Not Obama)
they are the ones that are really in charge of the treasury.

Hit your thumb with a hammer? Must be Obama's fault huh?

The above is incorrect. The department of treasury and hence the IRS is part of the executive branch with the president as the chief executive.

Impeachment may never happen, because (as yet) they don't have an inside man with a smoking gun. Nixon was impeached because they had John Dean
testifying that a coverup was in play and was being directed by Nixon, part of which included the direction of the IRS to target specific individuals.
There is currently no person identified as acting in a manner similar to John Dean. No smoking gun...no impeachment.

That's not to say things may not change in the days ahead.....

Bush may have done some of these same things (directing the IRS...) However, if he did, it was never brought to light. No one sounded the alarm.

But then again, Bush didn't have the dead voting for him in Chicago and Florida. He didn't have ACORN. He didn't have SEIU. He didn't have
George Soros. He didn't have Rev. Jesse Wright. He didn't seal all his records. He didn't have Bill Ayers. He didn't have Obama phones.

Lois Lerner, the senior executive in charge of the IRS tax exemption department and the federal employee at the center of the exploding scandal
over the IRS targeting of conservative, evangelical and pro-Israel non-profits, was given $42,531 in bonuses between 2009 and 2011.

Yep, just keep the scapegoats coming. I expected Obama to at least come to the podium and say he is embarrassed that such an outrageous transgression
took place on his watch, but no such luck. Just more of the blame game. C'mon Mr. President! The spiel is getting tiring.

It's as if every time this administration screws up, there is a dupe waiting in the wings on whom they have no qualms about placing the blame. I
wonder why they take the abuse?....

Goodbye Steven Miller: we hardly knew thee. No really. It is unclear as of this writing what Steve's severance package, and how big his (tax-free
of course) lifetime public pension will be. In a possibly related matter, it is also unclear in just which office Goldman's latest, in-house tax
consultant hire will reside.

Tell me, who the [snip] has presidential experience before they get into office? Seriously! Where do you get POTUS experience? Huh?

a divider who polarizes

As opposed to Bush? A uniter? How polarizing was Bush? (I know, can't bring up Bush, cause the years of 2000 - 2008 never happened)

a power-hungry politician who's casual disregard for the laws and Constitution are writ large.

Listen, in order to be president, you have got to be power hungry. If you aren't, you will NEVER be president. We don't elect the meek to the
position, and isn't that directly in opposition to your first argument against Obama? He's power hungry, but has no experience at the most power
hungry position in the world?

99% of politicians are the same.

Including Ron Paul

It's okay to blame Bush, but we can't blame Obama because he's just a victim.
It's okay to blame Congress, but we can't blame Obama because he's just a victim.

Believe me, Obama get's plenty of blame. some of it is even warranted. The problem is, that his opponents blame him for EVERYTHING including their
own erectile disfunction.

The buck stops with leadership. Way back in O-school, we were taught that our people got the fame, we got the blame.

Yes, Obama does hold responsibility for some things. I linked a list of campaign promises that Obama has broken. But you seem to want to blame Obama
for EVERY SINGLE THING GOING WRONG IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE!

Obama is a piss-poor leader.

That's your opinion, and your entitled to it.

He has no moral compass. His goal is to better himself at the sacrifice of all others. His casual disregard to toss any and everyone under the
bus to keep himself clean is apparent to anyone that can see.

Welcome to US politics. You mad bro?

I've never read anybody on this site saying 2000-2008 under Bush is or should be forgotten. Yes, his leftovers aren't great, but nobody here says
what you claim they think.

Bush has nothing to do with Obama when it comes to lying to America. The government has the ability to spy on 99% of America efficiently if they
wanted to, yet the administartion can't figure out the head of the IRS was corrupt.

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.